The revolutionaryKnight Trainer from Black Knight allows players of all levels to learn, improve and perfect badminton skills dramatically faster than in the past. The Knight Trainer is a compact, portable shuttle launcher that delivers a wide range of shots and levels of difficulty. The Knight Trainer frees up the coach to observe a player’s movements and technique, enabling the coach to correct and teach skills more quickly and effectively. With the Knight Trainer’s steady feed, players can rapidly improve accuracy, consistency and technique. Coaches, for the first time ever, are able to measure the progress of players’ shots on a uniform basis. Features and Settings Ø The versatile, compact Knight Trainer is easy to transport and store, and can feed both feather and nylon shuttlecocks, with a wide range of positions and settings. It is sold with 3 feeding tubes that hold 50 shuttles each. Tubes are switched quickly and easily during use. Ø Players can train against multiple smashes, drives, fast drops, slow drops, net shots, clears, short serves, long serves, smash returns and more, all fed consistently. Elite players can perfect all of the shots in their repertoires and can use their creativity to develop new shots. Ø Coaches can manually vary the shot angle or direction while the player trains. Ø With the remote control, at the touch of a button the player or coach can start and pause firing and change velocity and frequency. Ø The firing height can be set anywhere between 54” and 82”. An optional low stand will also allow a height setting of 36”. Ø The shot angle can easily be set at any point from a sharply angled smash to a soaring clear or long serve. Ø Firing frequency can be set at any rate between 3 shuttles per second and 1 shuttle per 9 seconds. Ø Velocity can vary from the most delicate of net shots to challenging smashes. Ø Calibrations forheight, angle, velocity and frequency canbe noted, so that the same shot can quickly be set up again at other times. ØTwo machines can be connected to work together, feeding alternately, each machine set up for a different shot. Here's 2 links for those who wants to see the Knight Trainer in action (plenty more to come which will be featured this summer on our soon to be updated website: www.playbk.com): http://youtube.com/watch?v=6sSZ8kwuhY8 http://youtube.com/watch?v=PL7KtT77Lv4
They are retailing for about $6000 CAD. We have already sold a couple to individuals but those are quite rare. We are selling more to Clubs and schools.
How long does it take to set up a shot? Doesn't it take dozens of tries just to get a proper angle for, say, a drop shot since it has to be so precise? (for the first time) And as for saving those calibrations for later use, does the trainer have to placed at exactly the same spot as previously?
Those calibration and set-up time can take a bit more time when you just got the Knight trainer and experiment it for the first time, after a few time you will know and remember the distance that you have to put it to achieve certain shots. There is also a slight variation in each shot, so it doesn't get repetitive and you really have to adjust to each shot.
